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<br />" <br />I STATE OF COLORADO <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Bill Owen., Gavernar <br />DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOUR.CES <br /> <br />DIVISION OF WILDLIFE <br />AN EQUAl. OPPOFlTUNITY EMPLOYER <br />Bruce McCloskey, Director <br />6060 Broadway <br />Denver, Colomdo S0216 <br />Telephone: (303) 297.1192 <br /> <br /> <br />For Wildlife- <br />For People <br /> <br />January 13, 2006 <br /> <br />Ms. Linda Bassi <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />Water Supply Protection Section <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 723 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br /> <br />Re: Paradox Valley Unit Injury with Mitigation Plan. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The purpose of this letter is to transmit the Colorado Division of Wildlife's (DOW) support for the <br />attached Injury with Mitigation Plan regarding the Paradox Valley Unit (PVU) operated by the Bureau of <br />Reclamation (BoR). The PVU is operated to intercept naturally occurring saline groundwater or brine <br />from entering the Dolores River and disposing the brine by injecting it into deep wells. The reach of the <br />Dolores River covered by this injury with mitigation proposal begins at the outlet of McPhee Reservoir <br />and extends downstream to the confluence with the San Miguel River, a distance of approximately 105 <br />miles. <br /> <br />General Backeround <br />The CWCB holds a decreed instream flow water right on the Dolores River for 78 cfs, Case No. 7- <br />75W1346, with an appropriation date of May 1, 1975. The BoR, in 1983, filed for a change of water <br />right application including a plan for augmentation in Water Divisions 4 and 7, Case Nos. 83CW14 and <br />83CW45 respectively, to augment out-of-priority depletions from the PVU. The BoR obtained 924 acre- <br />feet of consumptive use credits by converting senior irrigation water rights from the House, Sommers, <br />Kuhlman, Bradfield, Dickinson, Porter. Van Winkle, Durham, Johnson, Aztec and Ritter Ditches to <br />replacement storage for salinity control and fish and wildlife propagation in the reservoir. BoR's water <br />court decree allows the BoR to store water in McPhee Reservoir for fish and wildlife purposes, if space <br />is available, before being released to augment out-of-priority depletions to the Dolores River. <br /> <br />The BoR's current operational practices of the PVU results in 309 acre-feet of depletions to the Dolores <br />River, 240 acre-feet ofthe depletions are out-of-priority depletions. The BoR does not currently have <br />plans to increase depletions. However, the potential does exist for the BoR to increase out-of-priority <br />depletions from 240 acre-feet to 300 acre-feet, an additional 60 acre-feet, if the PVU is required to pump <br />brine 365 days of year rather than the 325 days a year it is currently pumping. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Proposed Iniurv with Mltieation Plan <br />Due to the substantial distance involved, 95 miles, from the upstream augmentation source, McPhee <br />Reservoir, and the downstream depletions it has been impossible for the BoR to completely augment the <br />out-of-priority depletions in the same amount, timing and location in which they occurred. To mitigate <br /> <br />DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, Russell George, Executive Dlreclcr <br />WILDLIFE COMMISSION, Jeffrey Crawford, CI1air. Tom Burke, Vice Chair. Ken Torres, SecJ9tary <br />Mambal1l, 8emard Black. Rick Enatrom. Philip James. Claire O'Neal. Bmd Phelps. Robert Shoemaker <br />Ex Officio Members. Russell Georae and Don Ament <br />